1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a non-transitory computer readable recording medium stored with a printer driver updating program and a printer driver updating method.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been a form of systems in which a plurality of computers and a plurality of printers (printing devices) are connected via a network.
One of such a form of systems using a network is a system having at least one computer (hereinafter called a “server computer”) and the other computers (hereinafter called “client computers”). In such a system, when a client computer tries to use a printer, the server computer allows the client computer to use the printer. Consequently, the client computer receives a printer driver supplied by the server computer. The client computer then executes the particular printing process using the supplied printer driver (e.g., a document titled: “Windows Point and Print,”<http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/6/8/668b964f-f126-4a96-88db-25d842a7113f/pointandprint.doc> available from the website of Microsoft Corporation, <http://www.microsoft.com/japan/windowsserver2003/techinfo/overview/pointandprint.mspx>.
For such a form of system using a network, a common printer driver that is installed on one computer and allows it to execute printing on various types of printers is proposed (e.g., HP Universal Print Driver, available from the website of Hewlett Packard Company, <http://h20338.www2.hp.com/Hpsub/cache/343033-0-0-225-121.html).
As a printer driver is one of the programs to be executed by a computer, it can be updated by modifying or adding a procedure provided as a program.
As one of such a form of updates, there is a technology of, when there is an additional module to the printer driver of the server computer, installing the module on the operating system (OS) of the server computer and notifying the existence of such an additional module to all other computers that share the printers controlled by the printer driver (Publication of Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-187557).
Incidentally, the microprocessor which serves as the heart of a computer is changing from the currently prevailing technology of 32 bit (32 bit architecture) to 64 bit (64 bit architecture) (concerning 64 bit RISC type microprocessor, see, e.g., Semiconductor IP (Intellectual Property) Related Technology, 1-3-9, 32/64 bit Microprocessor (technical name) 64 bit RISC Type Microprocessor <http://www.jpo.go.jp/shiryou/s_sonota/hyoujun_gijutsu/handoutai_ip/1-3-9.htm> available on-line from the website of Patent Office of Japan; concerning the operating system for 64 bit processor, see, for example, “Functions of Windows 7, 64 bit Support”<http://windows.microsoft.com/ja-JP/windows7/products/features/64-bit-support> available on-line from the website of Microsoft Corporation).
As a consequence, this allows a plurality of computers having different architecture to be connected to a shared printer. In such a case, the server computer that a module is added (updated) to its printer driver can notify a client computer having the same architecture as the server computer of the update of the driver but can not do the same to a client computer having different architecture in the prior art (Publication of Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-187557). This is because the driver suitable for the operating system of the server computer is updated but the driver for a client computer having different architecture is not updated in the server computer, as a difference in architecture calls for a different operating system.